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Iyra Aldonia
Iyra Aldonia was an Asari engineer, former Shadow Broker agent, crew member of the MSV Aetherius, and sentinel. She is one of the main protagonist of Mass Effect: Chronicles of a Silent Galaxy. Iyra was born on , the final child of Liara T'Soni, and Vincent Shepard, and shifted around through her youth, the daughter of a human male. Iyra sought an adventurous life like her father had, and prepared to leave Thessia. She relocated to , and began attending the University of Cyone, working as a security officer simultaneously. During the 15 years she spent there, Iyra had a show down with the over a crime ring in 2266 CE. Soon after this she met Captain Kasper Martial, of the MSV Aetherius. Recognizing her skills, the captain offered her position on board the Aetherius, and Iyra with a clear way to a life of adventure, accepted the offer. Over the next 5 years, she worked various jobs with Kasper and his crew, eventually becoming his First Mate. In 2271 CE, the Aetherius was recruited to provide transport for a research team searching for an artifact in the Terminus Systems known as the Dark Heart. Biography Early Life Iyra was the third and final child of Liara T'Soni, and Vincent Shepard. Being the baby of the family, Iyra received some preferential treatment from her mother, and because of this there was always tension between her and her older sisters. Liara often spent more time with Iyra than the other kids, as she intended to see Iyra take over as the Shadow Broker one day. The three siblings occasionally had their moments of peace together, whenever their father spent time with them. Shepard somehow always made the children forget about their differences. She also developed a close relationship with EDI, the AI that assisted Liara. When her parents were on business, Iyra was placed in the care of their former companions, typically and , and sometimes even . She refereed to them as her uncles and aunt, and developed friendships with Garrus and Tali's adopted child, Rael'Zora nar Vakarian, and their adopted child Octus Vakarian, as well as several of Wrex's offspring, specifically Urdnot Solus. She grew up on Thessia for most of her youth fascinated with space vessels, engines, and engineering. In 2204 CE, her sisters were sent off to join the Thessia University, pursuing careers in history and science. Iyra opted to stay behind, working behind the scenes at a starship construction yard. She always idolized her father and often aspired to be him, she even dreamed of becoming a Spectre, much to the worry of Liara. Over the years Iyra traveled across the galaxy with her family, going to , the Citadel, and various other locations across civilized spaced. During this time she became very familiarized with other cultures, broadening her own personal views and seeing the impact her human father had on the other species of the galaxy. Shepard's Passing, and Becoming Aldonia In early 2251 CE, her father passed away, it became a galactic day of mourning known as All Heroes Day. She had a revelation after his death and began to long for adventure, for something new other than the life she was living on Thessia, and soon relocated to Cyone, changing her name as she didn't want it to be a factor, she became Iyra Aldonia. Iyra spent the next 15 years on Cyone, training her combat skills, and even began attending the University of Cyone as well, where she excelled. She was the of the most talented students in her training academy, and soon joined the Polos security force as a cadet. She was quickly promoted to an agent with in several years, a move that drew criticism from the force's veterans. Little did Iyra know, her mother had orchestrated her move through the organization, as Liara began to see the potential in Iyra. Regardless, Iyra's combat and biotic skills made her more than qualified for the job than anyone else on the force, her young age served as the only deterrent. She eventually befriended Pejos Voss, a young agent on the force, and the two developed a sibling like rivalry. As she sought to prove herself to her fellow officers on the security force, Iyra volunteered to serve on the investigations of many of Polos's deadliest crimes, earning notoriety among the Polos underground. In 2266 CE, Iyra and Voss began investigating a string of murders committed by the , murders of seemingly innocent people, with no ties to the organization. A key witness, Jay Daughtry, who had witnessed one of the murders became involved with Iyra, though not sexually, there was intimacy. One evening Jay invited her to his sky apartment, though the evening would not go as she planned. The Eclipse had been tracking her, and they assaulted the home, kidnapped Iyra and Jay in the process. When she awoke she found herself inside of the Eclipse hideout in the city, an old underground power planet beneath the center of Polos. The leader of the group, Jaesa T'Pian admitted to the murders, confessing the victims were all officials and agents of the Eclipse, operating their smuggling ring in the city, Jay was one as well. The Eclipse intended to purge the ring and leave no evidence, and that Jaesa planned on killing Iyra to erase the last link to their operation. However, Voss, ever on the prowl, tailed Iyra to Jay's house, and witnessed the kidnapping. He then followed the Eclipse mercenaries to the plant, and attacked, giving Iyra the chance to utilize her biotics and escape. The two attempted to pursue Jaesa, but they were forced to let her escape in favor of disarming several bombs the mercenaries had set in the plant. If the bombs had not been deactivated, the city center would of been severely damaged. Police reinforcements arrived to help the agents clean up the mess, and though most of the Eclipse soldiers were killed or captured, Jaesa escaped, and they could find no sign of Jay. Following the investigation, Iyra was recognized as a hero by the public, but she was temporarily suspended from duty for putting her life in jeopardy and forming a relationship with a key witness. She was ultimately offered her job back but denied the offer and intended to re-enroll in school. However, a man named Kasper Martial soon contacted her after hearing of her story. He sought to add her to his crew, as he was the captain of the MSV Aetherius, and after finding out about her pristine engineering abilities, he pushed for her to sign up. Iyra saw this as another new adventure, and graciously accepted the captain's offer. MSV Aetherius and the Dark Heart Over the next five years Iyra adventured the galaxy with Kasper and his crew, working job after job and eventually became Kasper's 2nd in command, in that time she befriended the crew's medical officer, Abigail Mangjeol, but stayed distant from most of the other crew members. Though the Aetherius mostly traveled within the safety Citadel Space, they occasionally managed to get into some trouble from time to time. In 2271 CE, the Aetherius signed up for an exploration expedition into the Outer Rim, but the adventure was stalled for sometime, due to crew members jumping ship, not wanting to risk the dangers of the Terminus Systems. In November of that same year, the vessel was once again ready for launch, with several new faces, including Taylor McClellan, Morkgul Rhoen, Saelian Praxiun, and several others. It wasn't long before Iyra befriended Taylor, the day of the launch in fact, conversing with he and Abigail in the med bay. To Iyra's annoyance, Abigail attempted to embarrass her and Taylor. Eventually Iyra headed for her bunk inside engineering, viewing that her subordinates, Adam Lee and Giles Boyd were asleep, she headed for her bunk, and as with her usual nightly ritual, kissed her father's Alliance Dog tags and went to sleep. The Vault of Zerxia As the hours passed, Iyra awoke, and was informed by Kasper that they would soon be reaching a planet, Zerxia, a cold frozen world, and that Iyra herself would be in charge of the ground team that would be protecting the researchers. Iyra prepared for landfall, and once again ran into Taylor, informing him she'd be joining them on the ground. Outside of the Aetherius, in the blizzard that had swamped the planet, Iyra playfully challenged Taylor to a race to see who would get to drive the rover, which she won. As they pressed on through the blizzard to the navpoint the research team provided, Iyra conversed with Taylor, and Nidel Aekso, another member of the security team, she also informed them of their goal on the planet. They were searching for something that would lead the way to an ancient city, the research team was searching for. As they arrived to the old, worn down Prothean compound, the entire group was left disturbed by the eerie abandoned structures. Lance Shaw, the leader of the security team led the way to the center of the compound, finding a small pyramid structure, the entrance to the Prothean bunker they were seeking. Quell Satch, a member of the research team opened the sealed door of the bunker, discovering, to everyone's surprise that the base was still powered. However, as they entered Lance triggered a stasis field that locked Iyra and the group, aside from Taylor and Nidel, inside of the entrance way. Taylor and Nidel set out to find the outside powersource of the stasis field, and Iyra and the others were left in horror as a creature attacked Taylor and Nidel. They were forced to sit by and wait, unable to see what was happening but they could hear the carnage. Iyra waited, hoping for a sign of either of the guards, and suddenly the stasis field deactivated, she rushed out to only find Taylor in shock, a massive dead Utha Beast, the severely damaged rovers, and Nidel, dead. Taylor and Saelian nearly got into an altercation over Nidel's death, only to be broken apart by Lance, and Iyra seeing the amount of emotion running through Taylor attempted to calm him down. Once inside the vault, Taylor was forced to stop, and take a moment to collect himself, Iyra chose to stay behind to comfort him, waving the others ahead. After he regained his composure, Rhoen contacted them on the comms, informing them they need to see what was in the bunker. He returned on the lift and took the two down, and there they came to see a massive corridor, filled with cryopods, Iyra immediately recalled her mother's description of , it matched. They regrouped with the others, and Quell informed them the cryopods were offline, a grim thought, considering that this bunker could of become a crypt. But they pressed on, into the main section of the structure, finding a locked doorway leading to an observatory. They split up to find a way to open the door, and Iyra, Taylor, and Roy located the security control console. En route however, Roy dished out a life lesson for the two, who both were struggling with what had happened outside. He suggested to them, that loss comes with the job of being an adventure, but there's so much to gain, and to learn. After accessing the console, to the relief of Iyra and Taylor, Roy discovered none of the pods were inhabited, but they were never used either, leaving them to speculate over why they weren't. They regrouped with the others, and entered the now unlocked observatory. Once inside, Roy made another grim discovery, the decayed skeleton of a Prothean, mangled with Reaper tech. Using the damaged Prothean VI, they confirmed their theory that the bunker held secrets to the Heart of Vey'Kosa. The Protheans referred to it as the Dark Heart, and that it was lost centuries before the Reapers, on the planet Numia in a war with Vey'Kosa and his people, the Tekuunan, aside from the key, that was stored in the bunker. The Protheans attempted to find the Heart once more, believing its technology would benefit them against the Reapers, however, they did not succeed and instead, created this bunker to freeze a large Prothean population, that after the Reapers left, would be released, relocate the Heart, and use its technology against the Reapers in the next cycle. Their mission failed however, as the Prothean director of the operation was indoctrinated, and sealed himself in the vault, preventing the others from ever even reaching the pods. Roy then removed the lockdown on the vault, and entered, attempting to take the Key from its pedestal, only to be burned by the barrier surrounding it. Instead, Olassia Amore, another Asari and a member of the research team used her biotics to pass through the barrier. However, upon grabbing the key, it sent out a burst of energy, and fused into her. Quell immediately scanned her, confirming she was okay but that the key was now apart of her, and Roy suggested, she had become the key. Iyra looked to Taylor, claiming their adventure just got much more interesting, as the team prepared to return to the Aetherius. Tensions on the Aetherius Once back on the Aetherius, Iyra was present when Saelian confronted Taylor, once again blaming him for Nidel's death, and citing the fact Taylor was involved with the death of an ally when he was in the Alliance as support. The two started fighting, but Kasper quickly broke the fight up, threatening both men with expulsion from the ship. Iyra restrained Taylor, once more helping calm him down. After the crowd dissipated, Taylor felt the guilt burdened him once more, and was worried Iyra had a different opinion of him now, to which she denied. She then offered him a pep talk, once again helping him regain his demeanor, and before leaving the room, Iyra told him, if he ever needed anything, her door was open. To which Taylor opted to make a pass at her, that the asari shot down, flirtatiously nonetheless though. She then headed down to the medical bay to talk shop with Abigail, and soon found herself criticizing Abigail for making jokes about Nidel being dead. Iyra attempted to talk to her good friend about her life, only to have Abigail start to break down over her mother's illness and her missing brother, Mikey Mangjoel. To help Abigail, Iyra allowed her to go back to harassing her over her lack of sexual adventure. As she did, Iyra zoned out, thinking about Taylor and starting to wonder if she had a crush on the human. Altakiril The Aetherius eventually docked at Port Wumara, on the pirate world of Altakiril. Iyra had been there previously, and knew of the Wumara Gang, pirates who ran the planet, and also worked for her mother, so she intended to keep a low profile. Her, Taylor, Erinn, and Eliae headed into port together, where upon seeing the influx of refugees in the streets, Iyra informed Taylor and Erinn of the truths to the wars that plagued the galaxy, and the ongoing conflict between the Exodus Dominion and the Attican Resistance Allegiance. They continued, Iyra being sure to avoid contact with any Wumara pirates, but she was forced into a close call. To avoid a pirate with a scanner on patrol, she pulled Taylor to the wall and the two posed as a couple, Eliae and Erinn concealing them. Iyra refused to reveal the reason as to why she was hiding, but even after the guard had passed, she and Taylor still had each other embraced, rather amorously until Eliae pointed it out. After the momentary embarrassment Iyra led the 3 to the Terminus's End, a popular pup on the planet, before leaving them there and going off on her own. Iyra continued on her own, to the Wumara headquarters, intent on reaching their leader, Kalen Goddard before he found out she was there, and accidentally alerted the Broker. Upon reaching the Wumara tower, she was greeted by pirates Claudio Sommer, and the grungy, Angus Coleman. Claudio led Iyra up to Kalen's office, where the pirate lord was rather excited to see the asari. After awkwardly teasing her for sometime, Kalen asked why Iyra was there, to which she responded, that he needed to avoid telling Liara that she was in the Terminus Systems. Kalen, agreed, and the two spent the time after discussing Altakiril, the war, and what their lives had gone through over the years. Eventually, Iyra left the Wumara Tower, with Kalen telling her if she needed anything before she left, to let him know. She continued back to the Aetherius, but upon reaching the docks, found Albrighton and his team rationing out supplies to the refugees. It brightened Iyra's spirits, listening to Albrighton as he vowed they should all sacrifice and do what they can to help the less fortunate. She then returned to the ship, taking the sight of Altakiril's ocean in, but it was quickly interrupted by a vocally agitated Kasper. The Captain then informed Iyra several members of the crew had been arrested in a bar fight, Taylor included. She worried, but Kasper informed they were okay, and that he had to find out how to get them out of jail. Iyra then recalled Kalen's words, and offered a way to get the crew out. Her and Kasper headed into town, where she contacted Kalen, who had the men freed. After getting them from the holding cells, Iyra met up with Taylor on their way back to the Aetherius, where she teased him over his self inflicted wounds from the fight. Saelian then stopped, praising Taylor's fighting ability before continuing ahead. The compliment surprised both Taylor and Iyra, who thought there was hope for the two's friendship after all. Attack Over Numia A week went by, and the date of November 21st, 2271 CE came to be. Iyra spent the night cleaning up down in the hangar of the Aetherius, but eventually finished up, and headed back to her post, intent on getting some rest. She had spent the past week mostly avoiding contact with Taylor, due to the odd feelings she was developing. Before she reached her engineering quarters, the Aetherius was attack by an unknown assailant. As Captain Martial sounded the alarms and ordered the crew to the lifeboats, Iyra scrambled to find Giles and Adam, but as she arrived at engineering, the engine of the ship was hit by the attacker's pulse cannons. Iyra managed to deploy a barrier, saving her own life, but Giles and Adam were killed in the explosion. Trapped in the burning engine room, Iyra created a safe escape path for herself via her biotics, and headed for the crew quarters, where she found Abigail. Though she hoped to find Taylor and the others, Lance arrived, claiming Kasper ordered for Iyra to head straight for the pods, and that Lance himself would find the others. Iyra reluctantly headed for the escape pods on the top deck, and once she arrived, Kasper tasked her with leading the regroup effort ground side on Numia, in case anything were to happen to him. Iyra, Abigail, Kiara Espinoza, and Quell Kyt boarded the pod and departed, being pulled into the atmosphere of the jungle world below. Searching for Survivors Description Physical Description Iyra, like most Asari, is beautiful, with a very clear, teal-blue complexion, and her markings resemble that of freckles underneath her eyes, as well as several other "tattoo-like" markings (She is the only member of her family to have such markings, and they were artificial, as to not be recognized as a T'Soni, after she took the name Aldonia), just a slightly darker shade of her skin tone. Her skin fades to a very light teal tint going across the top and back of her scalp. She has a very soft face, and a uncharacteristically somewhat strong nose, complimented by purple lips and light blue eyes. Many have referred to her as a "chip off the old block", due to her resemblance to her mother. In terms of size she is rather small and thin, though not feeble by any means, rather fit, someone who was defined by a healthy lifestyle. Iyra often wore memorabilia of her father, keeping his leather N7 jacket close as well as his dog tags. Outside of those items, her wardrobe differs, she often liked to stay relaxed and free. That being said, while in non hostile situations she preferred wearing sports leggings, sweatpants, tank tops, sweaters, and hoodies. Outside in more casual settings, she stuck with the sweaters and hoodies for the most part, just threw on jeans rather than sweats, and sneakers as well. Occasionally, on certain nights she would adorn any of the surprisingly lavish dresses she keeps hidden. In combat, Iyra brandished a modified version of the Maverick Skirmisher armor, a sleeveless variant, with black underlying armor, and maroon padding. Personality Iyra's qualities can be credited to her father and her mother, though she doesn't see herself resembling much of Liara. She is smart, intuitive, creative, kind, and has a sense of loyalty second to none, and she was brave and protective, with an extrovert mindset, she was never shy. She had a witty and playful personality, often laughing at most if not anything, even things some would deem childish. She wasn't modest about her abilities and seemed to always find confidence, even at times if it was false. This has been the result of high stress situations that have compromised her sense of calm. For reasons unknown, she has a fight-hard persona, often overworking herself to succeed. With a strong sense of adventure Iyra loves to explore, often setting out through cities, stations, and landscapes just for the view. This habit has gotten her into danger from time to time as well. She embodied the spirit and mindset of her father, placing heroics and the desire to lead above all else. She feared having to take chances, but ultimately, she would still take them, knowing Shepard would of done the same. Also much like her father, she believed in doing things the right way, not the fast way. By far, her greatest attribute, was how thoughtful she was. She often went above and beyond for her friends, as well as strangers in need. She always wanted and was willing to help anyone that needed it. She cherished her friendships, and wanted to celebrate anything she could with those she cared about. She would often put her desires and needs behind that of her companions. This as shaped her political and social views as well, she open minded and glamorizes the liberal view, she believes whole-heartedly the galaxy needs to work together, sacrifice together, for the benefit of everyone. She despises xenophobia, discrimination, religious persecution, and any form of intolerance. Iyra had a great sense of humor, and enjoyed her off time. She liked to drink, have fun, make friends, dance, shop, spend time outside or pursuing the things she loved. In her free time she enjoyed playing the piano, swimming, and spending time out doors. Growing up with a human father, Iyra was well acquainted with human culture and slang. Her preferred language is English as well, even though she speaks Asari fluently, and doesn't require a translator when speaking to either species. For the most part, Iyra wasn't interested in relationships, sex, or contact with others in any intimate way at all. However, she was flirtatious, not overly but she was never afraid to bat her eyes or coyfully tease others. This was more evident in her interactions with Taylor, but it eventually led to the development of actual feelings for the human. She was always exceptionally close with her father, and kept his Alliance tags on her at all times, as well as a picture of the two them on the beach when she was just a child. But Iyra rarely spoke of her past, to anyone. She kept her family life private, though there was speculation her mother was a rather important figure in the galaxy, and she also refrained from speaking of her experiences on Cyone as well. Relationships Skills and Abilities Powers= *'Fitness:' Iyra is gifted both genetically and via her own effort, possessing enhanced fitness and combat prowess. She can channel this to assist her in battle, providing in edge in her reactions and speed. *'Lift Grenade:' Iyra can utilize a lift grenade to detonate biotic combos and destroy barriers. *'Biotics:' Being an asari, Iyra is naturally biotic, and a very strong one at that. She utilizes abilities such as , , , and . From time to time she would dwell into using more dangerous abilities, often and . *'Overload:' Iyra can use overload, and sabotage enemy shields. *'Tactical Cloak:' Via a small device located on her belt, Iyra can deploy a temporary tactical cloak to utilize for quick escapes. *'Offensive Mastery:' Increased understanding of offensive biotics, tech, and combat tactics. |-| Abilities= *'Mastery Over Biotic Abilities:' Since she learned to walk, Iyra constantly made use of her biotic abilites, as it was encouraged by both her mother and father throughout her youth. She was more biotically potent than both her sisters as well, but despite this, she wasn't considered by no means an extremely powerful bioitc. For what she lacked in power, Iyra made up for it with control and mastery. Her manipulation of mass effect fields was so smooth and tempered that it almost seemed simple. She could hit a target from 40 meters away with a lance, and on the button as well. Her biotics were so advanced that with enough concentration she could levitate objects on the other side of walls. Because of her training, her biotic stamina was also second to none. *'Peak Physical Conditioning:' Though not supreme by any means, Iyra was in incredible shape, she often worked her hardest to maintain a certain level of fitness, and her level was much higher than most. Though she wasn't incredibly strong, Iyra was resilient, and tough, posting an extremely high mental make up and tolerance to pain, likely due to the mental imprint of her father. Even when her body is being pushed to the brink, she seems to drum up enough energy to fight back. *'Advanced Speed and Agility:' Iyra, though short possessed strong, long, and lean legs providing her with advanced straight line speed. It was another trait she developed through out her youth, and via her biotics she was able to get even more out of her top gear. She also was nimble and quick. This matched with her overall awareness in dangerous situations made her very hard to hit, as she seamlessly moved along cover at a rapid pace. *'Well Developed Martial Arts Skills:' While training on Cyone in the Academy, Iyra was scored top of her class in the martial arts division. She worked hard to move herself up the ranking system and developed quite the arsenal of combat tactics. She specialized in smooth, technical, and fast styles fitting her body type and persona. She understands weak points and knows how to read movements in an above average fashion. *'Sentinel Training:' In the academy, Iyra specialized as a sentinel. She was considered a specialist in both biotic and technological use, and seamlessly transitioned between the two. *'Sword Mastery:' Iyra was fond of the , and prefared it for combat situations. Using her quickness and agility to close the distance, she would then engage a target with the sword, utilizing her biotics barries as well. She fought with a very defensive and cunning style, employing small, fast, counter attacks before defeating her opponents. *'Adept Starship Engineering:' She spent a majority of her early days working for a starship factory on Thessia, and had a love for the birds of space. She was no amazing engineer by any means, but she was better than many in that field of industry, and always stayed on top of the latest technology. *'High Level Intellect:' Attending school for more than half of her life, Iyra also held a wide variety of knowledge, and this, coupled with her experiences around the galaxy made her quite the diverse and bright mind. She had a rare combination of both book and streets smarts, and with the mental layout of her father, it made her quite unique. *'Leadership:' Another benefit of her mental makeup, Iyra was quite the natural leader, she knew how to care for those around her, how to inspire them, how to read them and understand them, and she understood when and where the hard lessons needed to be taught. *'Persuasion and Manipulation:' She was very aware of her abilities to persuade others, whether it was through logical persuasion, or manipulation, Iyra often knew what could get someone to help her out. She wasn't hesitant to flirt or use her looks if it could help her achieve something, but she never pushed it beyond simple flirting. *'Shepard's Mental Layout:' The gift that keeps on giving, though she doesn't realize it, and often takes it for granted, Iyra is the way she is because of her father. His mental layout exist within her, she bears the persona, willpower, heart, and determination that guided her father to becoming the hero of the galaxy. It is because of this that she is so capable, that she doesn't quit when her backs against the wall, that she possesses leadership abilities far beyond her years, and that she can withstand so much. By no means is she her father, but his traits and characteristics are apart of Iyra that will undoubtedly subconsciously guide her throughout her life, giving her an unimaginable potential. |-| Weaknesses= *'Stubbornness:' Iyra was quite stubborn, and this trait could often get her into trouble in a variety of ways. She often refused to quit even when all options had been exhausted, and because of this, certain failures would cost her more than they should have. *'Deep-Seeded Feelings of Inadequacy:' Being the daughter of Commander Shepard, Iyra often felt she had the biggest shoes in the galaxy to fill. This forced her into numerous mistakes, overthinking and overcompensating included, as she would routinely question herself and compare herself to her father. These thoughts would create feelings of inadequacy, as she worried about her living up to her fathers image. Despite this however, she often worked through these emotional issues. Appearances *Mass Effect: Chronicles of a Silent Galaxy **COSG: The Dark Heart Quotes Trivia *Iyra was originally planned to be the 2nd primary protagonist behind Taylor McClellan, however as the plot was rewritten, she was shifted into being the main protagonist and the central hero of the story. *Iyra's voice is very much similar to her mothers, as implied by the joke "she exhales a bit of air when she speaks". *She is adept at playing the piano, and has been known to be a better than average singer. *Iyra is a known fan of biotiball. *Unlike her mother and sisters, who simply have eyebrow like markings, Iyra has full facial markings. This was artificial and not natural, she didn't want to be recognized for her family and after taking the name Aldonia, she had the markings added. Gallery Related Pages *Taylor McClellan *MSV Aetherius *Kasper Martial *Galactic Federation of Allied Systems Category:Asari Category:Biotics Category:Articles by WolfOfTheEast Category:Chronicles of a Silent Galaxy Category:WolfOfTheEast Category:COSG Category:Shepard family Category:Sentinel